They have heard from critics who claim the roars have left Augusta National because of the course changes. No one made that point clearer than Woods, the four-time champion, did at Doral.

"I just hope the excitement comes back on the back nine. It's not what it used to be," Woods said. "I miss guys being able to go out there and shoot 31 on that back nine and win a championship. Granted, we have had bad weather the last two years.... But hopefully we can get some good weather and the ball will be flying again, like it can, and guys will be a little bit more aggressive on that back nine and create a little more excitement on Sunday."

The course setup isn't the only thing that has been eased up this year. Nothing against Trevor Immelman and Zach Johnson. They are both nice guys, wonderful players and deserving champions. But they are also the last two wearers of the green jacket, poster boys for the mundane that has settled in between the pines.

The Masters has always been about the biggest names producing the most memorable moments. Johnson's precise wedge play into all the par-5s in '07 or Immelman's steady Sunday last year hardly qualify.

But the azaleas are blooming, and hope springs eternal that the Masters will get back some sizzle when things tee off this morning.

Woods is fresh off his comeback win at Bay Hill, and Phil Mickelson is one tournament removed from his Doral victory. Greg Norman is back at age 54. And flying happily under the radar is Padraig Harrington, gunning for his third straight major and fourth in the last seven.

"No one wants to hear the roars and the excitement more than the members and the volunteers who put on the tournament," said Masters chairman Billy Payne. "And it is true that through the years, we have become accustomed to those. It is also true that over the last couple of years, there have not been as many."

Payne says the criticism stings.

"It's like when you go to a piano recital of one of your granddaughters and you hear somebody say, 'Boy, that's the worst kid I've ever seen.' It hurts your feelings."

He also maintains that the weather conditions have been mostly to blame, and with the anticipation of four nice days, the excitement level will peak.

"The forecast is to be warm and sunny," Mickelson said. "In that case the course will play much shorter than we saw the last couple of years. When I played here a couple of weeks ago when it was warm, 75 degrees, I was able to hit the same clubs into the par-4s and par-5 that I did back in the early '90s."

Would that include reaching 13 and 15 in two? In the old days, the risk/reward scenarios for those two par-5s made for mad swings as guys went for the green at the risk of balls rolling back into Rae's Creek. Several other birdie holes made back nine charges possible, if not mandatory for the winner.

"I remember in my days playing, if somebody came into the back nine at Augusta probably six or seven or eight shots behind the lead they'd feel like they could win it," Norman said. "That was a great feeling."

Norman repeated his answer when asked if Woods could still mount one of those charges.